BEIJING, March 28, 2024 (AFP) – China is the biggest electric vehicle market in the world, a battle royale featuring both established carmakers as well as upstarts such as Xiaomi, which launched its first EV on Thursday. EV makers from China have made inroads into markets from Europe to Southeast Asia and Tesla’s Elon Musk described them in January as “the most competitive car companies in the world”. How big is the Chinese EV market? […]
Tag: EV
Vietnam confirms recall of nearly 6,000 VinFast electric cars
HANOI, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – Vietnam’s leading electric car manufacturer VinFast has recalled almost 6,000 vehicles after a fault in their indicator system was discovered, the government has confirmed, in a fresh blow to the firm. The communist state’s first homegrown auto maker is hoping to compete with electric vehicle (EV) giants such as Tesla, and is trying to crack the global market. But VinFast has struggled to convince international drivers its EVs are […]
Toyota apologises for scandals as vehicle sales set new record
TOKYO, Jan 30, 2024 (AFP) – Toyota’s chairman said Tuesday he was “ashamed” of recent scandals involving subsidiaries of the Japanese auto giant, as the firm announced record vehicle sales of 11.2 million across its brands last year. The bumper figure — an industry record — sees Toyota retain its position as the world’s top-selling automaker for the fourth successive year, thanks to a recovery in demand and easing chip shortages. Taking only the Toyota […]
Tesla files recall on 2 mn vehicles to fix autopilot software
NEW YORK, Dec 14, 2023 (AFP) – Electric car maker Tesla has initiated a recall of over two million vehicles in the United States and Canada due to risks associated with the autopilot software, national regulators said Wednesday. In cases where vehicle operators misuse Tesla’s driver-assistance program or fail to recognize when the system won’t work well, “there may be an increased risk of a collision,” said a notice from the US National Highway Traffic […]
Bentley says first luxury electric car due 2025
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – German-owned luxury car brand Bentley said Wednesday that its first all-electric vehicle will be ready by 2025, as it unveiled major investment on becoming a fully carbon zero company. Its first battery-powered electric vehicle will be developed and built at its factory in Crewe, northwest England, Bentley said in a statement. The carmaker, owned by Volkswagen, added it was investing £2.5 billion ($3.4 billion, 3.0 billion euros) “in sustainability over […]
GM to spend $7 bn in Michigan to build electric auto capacity
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – General Motors announced Tuesday plans to invest $7 billion in the US state of Michigan as it converts assembly plants and builds batteries for the transition to electric vehicles (EV). Calling the announcement “the largest single investment in GM history,” the auto giant said the push in its Midwestern home state would create 4,000 new jobs and retain 1,000 more positions. GM has previously projected that it will double […]
GM factory launch ushers in Detroit’s EV pickup campaign
by John BIERS Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – General Motors takes a leap Wednesday towards its much-touted “all-EV” future when it officially opens its first electric pickup truck factory. The auto giant will unveil Factory Zero, a 36-year old plant in Hamtramck, Michigan that has been retooled for electric vehicles (EV), commemorating the occasion with President Joe Biden. The celebration at the Detroit-area plant comes ahead of initial commercial deliveries of the […]
General Motors says 2023 car will allow mostly hands-free driving
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – General Motors plans to launch in 2023 a premium model that would enable hands-free operation in 95 percent of driving scenarios, the US auto giant announced Wednesday. The technology, called “Ultra Cruise,” is a centerpiece of a newly unveiled plan that the Detroit company says will enable it to double annual revenues by 2030. “The vehicle has become a software platform,” Chief Executive Mary Barra said at a briefing […]
VW ditches natural gas to focus on e-cars
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany (AFP) — Volkswagen on Monday said it will stop developing natural gas-fuelled cars as the German auto giant bets on electric engines in the battle to woo climate-conscious drivers. The VW group sold just 110,000 cars powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) worldwide last year, not enough to justify further investment, VW’s head of development Frank Welsch told the Handelsblatt financial daily. Although production of existing models powered by the alternative energy […]
BMW aims to slash CO2 output by 20% in 2020
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany (AFP) — German high-end carmaker BMW aims to slash the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by its cars sold in Europe this year by 20 percent, its chief executive said Wednesday. The pledge comes as new European Union regulations bite this year, requiring carmakers to sharply reduce fleet-wide emissions on pain of massive fines. “We will achieve an improvement of 20 percent in Europe this year alone” compared with 2019, CEO […]
UK vows action after envoy slams plans for UN climate talks
By Alice RITCHIE Agence France-Presse London, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday called for urgent action to deal with global warming, after his ex-climate envoy warned his own plans for UN talks later this year were “miles off track”. In a speech ahead of the COP 26 talks in Glasgow in November, Johnson said the evidence of climate change was “overwhelming”. At an event with naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough, he called […]





